Gluten-free Pumpkin Pie & A MightyNest Giveaway

by autumn on November 13, 2013

Thanksgiving is never a huge affair for us, a fact that is sort of growing on me. Because both my boyfriend and I are pretty far from our respective families, we’re stuck with one another for t-day. In grad school, we did our share of friendsgivings, but in the past few years, we’ve developed our own little tradition of spending the day in and cooking together.Although I feel a little self-conscious about not having a crowd at the table that day, I’ve come to really look forward to a simple day in the kitchen. That said, I was stupid excited to be able to cook for my family last year at Christmas, even if (and maybe especially because) we had to sit in folding chairs in the living room because we couldn’t all fit at my kitchen table. I hope for another rag-tag meal like that with the folks I love again soon. Good food and no fuss above all.

Until then, we’re keeping it uncomplicated for Thanksgiving again this year. We’re still thinking about what will be on the table that day (It’s soon! I know!), but this classic pumpkin pie made with heavy cream will definitely be there. Something I’ve been trying to keep in mind lately is “better, not more,” which, turns out, is a helpful intention for menu-planning and for life. Recently, the folks at MightyNest asked me to partner with them to highlight Duralex glassware and help inspire a switch from plastic to glass, which fits squarely in the “better not more” kitchenware camp.

Duralex makes my most favorite little picardie tumbler. You’ve likely spied it here or in my instagram feed before. I love the classic design and the fact that they stack easily on my no-space home bar. Plus they’re tempered, so they’re durable even in the most clumsy hands (mine!). I test-drove these stackable Duralex glass bowls when I made this pie. The range of sizes in the set–from big ol’ mixing bowl to itty bitty pinch bowl–means I may finally be ready to part with a few members of the hodgepodge collection of plastic bowls I’ve collected over the years for an upgrade to glass.

Cut in the butter. You’re done when there are still small visible flecks of butter, but you have an evenly incorporated mixture, ie: no big hunks of butter and no flour hanging out by itself.

Add 2T of ice water and use a spatula to toss until combined. If needed, continue sprinkling in ice water, a little at a time as needed, just until the dough comes together. It should hold together in a ball, but not be too sticky. For me the sweet spot is usually somewhere between 2-3 T.

Shape the dough into a disc and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

To roll out the crust:

Remove the dough from the fridge and dust a large sheet of parchment paper with tapioca starch.

Place the disc of dough on the parchment and dust the surface of the dough.

Begin to slowly roll out the dough, dusting with tapioca starch as you go. You can also place another sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough, between it and your rolling pin, if you’re having trouble with it sticking.

When the crust is between 1/4-1/8 inch thick, use the bottom layer of parchment to quickly flip the crust into the pie plate. Carefully peel away the parchment (if this is difficult, place the whole thing in the freezer for a minute or two and try again) and press down, trim, and crimp the crust.

Place the crust in the fridge while the oven preheats and you whisk together the filling.

For the filling, assembly, and baking:

Preheat the oven to 350.

Whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, clove, nutmeg, and salt until it is smooth and thick.

Gradually whisk in the heavy cream.

When the oven has pre-heated, remove the crust from the fridge. Give the filling one last whisk then pour it into the crust.

Bake the pie for 60-75 minutes, or until it only jiggles slightly and has puffed up.

Although I’ve switched up my flour mix since then, this post on gluten-free pie crust has a lot of useful tips.

It’s a complete no-no, but I’ve started working quickly with my hands to cut the butter into the flour. I use my hands until I’m happy with how it feels, then usually switch to a spatula when adding the water. Very liberating, but not at all recommended. Bring on the scorn.

Disclosure: MightyNest provided me with a set of glasses and bowls mentioned above and will provide them to the giveaway winner as well.

Trying to replace the plastic containers in my kitchen by the end of the year. I have started picking up some here and there when I have a little extra money in the budget. Thanks for a helpful giveaway!

Almost no plastic, next up: straws! Also hoping to figure out bread storage for the freezer that is manageable (currently, the fresh-baked-sliced loaf goes into a many-times-used ziploc. Otherwise, we’re glass!

Like almost everybody else here, I’m trying to find better storage solutions. I have some old Corningware dishes, but of course the glass lids are not even close to airtight, and I have tons of reused Chinese soup containers, but they’re plastic…

Ooh, how I’d love a set of those! (Thanks for the chance.) I use mason jars and vintage pyrex for storage and have eliminated almost all plastic from my kitchen except for popsicle molds (stainless ones are on my wish list).

Will second/third/fourth/whatever the Tupperware suggestion. I always microwave my food in plastic for lunches, even though I know you’re not supposed to…but sticker shock always holds me back from buying the glass kind. One of these days!

I’m running out of plastic items in my kitchen, replaced with glass/wood/ceramic. I still find myself using plastic bags in the bulk section when I forget to bring some from home (no koot sacs!), and I still wind up with plastic containers from yogurt/cottage cheese/sour cream. I’m trying to be better about buying my bulk items from stores that I can bring my jars to fill directly, and I’d like to make my own yogurt more consistently.

I re-use the plastic I have for food storage that doesn’t involve heating (if the contents are to be reheated, I dump them into a glass bowl first), and as they wear out I’ve been replacing them with glass.

plastic storage in pantry. I still have my flour, rapadura, and red lentils in the sistema pantry line. I have even created a photo stream on iCloud with pictures so I can replace those. in fact, I can probably still return them to the container store!

When my wife and I combined households this summer we were able to get rid of the plastic cups and dinnerware that her kids have used for years. Now we’re working on replacing our plastic food storage.

I’ve replaced all our large storage containers for glass, but we simply don’t have enough smaller sized ones – especially lunch box small – in y home! Working on upgrading and switching it all out…slowly, but surely..

I’m doing pretty well eliminating plastics, my over crowded fridge would agree with me! I buy butter in pound blocks, and have to find a better than plastic storage for the open block- I usually use plastic bags which annoy me.

Welcome.

Hi! I'm Autumn. I'm a freelance writer in the desert, who adores home cooking. Here you'll find greenmarket-focused gluten-free food: sweets, cocktails, and preserving projects. These are all of the things I love to make and do. I'm the author of Beyond Canning! Read more about me here.